1.2 The Bellova Devil

A body is found on the Circle Line, wearing full dress uniform. It is identified as Reginald Colville – a man who was certified dead some six weeks ago! In an attempt to solve the mystery Jago and Litefoot become unwilling bodysnatchers… And thus begins a chain of events that will pit them against killer Bulgars and the mysterious machinations of the Far-Off Travellers Club…

1 Comment

Styre
on April 17, 2017 at 8:29 PM

JAGO & LITEFOOT: THE BELLOVA DEVIL

“The Bellova Devil” might be the best thing Alan Barnes has ever written for Big Finish. This is a story that absolutely delights in its characters and setting, with Victorian atmosphere (and, yes, pastiche) spilling out of the speakers. From the main characters, to the gentleman’s club, to the presence of lesser grotesques like the Manchester Mangler, “The Bellova Devil” is exactly what you’d imagine if you suggested Jago and Litefoot get their own series. I love the central plot: a “travelers’ club” is revealed to be a suicide club whose members travel to the afterlife. But it’s all a scam – really, they put you in deep sedation, dig you up later on, give you a new identity and some cash, and send you on your way. But *that* is also a scam, because in fact they take all your possessions and kill you with cyanide! This seems needlessly complex, but Barnes makes it work without detectable fault. I also like how everything points toward the presence of the supernatural but yet all events can be explained in real-world terms, despite the ongoing presence of Dr. Tulp (Toby Longworth). Christopher Benjamin again gets the heavy emotional lifting, as Jago comes quite close to death, but Trevor Baxter is just as delightful, particularly in Litefoot’s theatrical staging of his own death by poison. I’ve seen it said in a few places that the range never again reaches the heights of its first two stories; I hope that isn’t true, because this is excellent.